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Journaling through the Bible Chronologically in 2025, Day 276

Oct3

A NEW MONTH – THE NEW TESTAMENT!

Day 276 – Reading – Matthew 2

Read and believe in Jesus!

Matthew 2.

You wondered where the Kings were at the birthplace of Jesus, right?  After all, our Nativity Scenes have three of them displayed prominently, sometimes even with their camels. Well, the truth is, they weren’t at the stable. They didn’t join the shepherds to look at the newborn baby lying in the stone manger.  They didn’t lay down their gifts (along with the Little Drummer Boy’s drum) in front of the hours-old infant. 

The Kings, or perhaps we should say the Magi, were still months away.  After all, they saw the STAR way off in Chaldea when Jesus was born. They knew someone extraordinary had been born, a king. However, they had to consult all their charts, and finally the Jewish writings to see who and where he was born.  They came across a passage in a Hebrew Book of the Law and had an “aha!” moment. Numbers 24:17 prophesied where the Star would appear and where the King would rule.

“A star shall come out of Jacob, and a (king’s) scepter shall rise out of Israel.”

The minute the Magi saw that reference, they began packing their camels to follow the Star. But it takes a while to travel almost 1,000 miles.  The baby Jesus was now a toddler, and the family was living in a house in Bethlehem, not in a stable.

Arriving in Jerusalem, the capital city of Israel, these Magi, with their long caravan, began asking one and all, “Where is He who has been born king of the Jews? For we saw his star in the East when it rose, and we have come to worship him.“

When King Herod heard this, he was troubled, and all Jerusalem with him.  (Hey, when this very evil and murderous king was troubled, the people of Jerusalem knew something awful was about to happen.)

Herod to the chief priests and scribes: “Where is the Messiah to be born?“

The scribes, after searching the scriptures, “Bethlehem, for the prophet Micah says, ‘But you, O Bethlehem Ephrathah (“fruitful”), who are too little to be among the clans of Judah, from you shall come forth for Me one who is to be Ruler/Shepherd  in Israel.'”

Herod, “Call in those Magi fellows!”

Herod to the Magi, “When, your highnesses, did you first see that “Star” appear?”

Magi, “Oh, about two years ago now.  It’s been a long and dusty road…”

Herod, “Yes, yes, I know. Okay, go towards Bethlehem, and when you find this… this new king, come back and tell me where he is so I can come and KI—, er, I mean, so I can come and worship him too.”

The Magi left, and were exceedingly glad when they found the HOUSE where they saw the child with his mother, Mary.  “They fell down and worshiped Him. Then, they opened their treasures and gave Him gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh.”

THEN… after God warned them in a dream NOT to go back to Jerusalem and the mad Herod, they left Jesus and his family to return to their own country … by another route.

God also warned Joseph in a dream that it was NO LONGER SAFE in Bethlehem, and to flee with his family to Egypt.  Whew!  It was a good thing that those Magi had brought gifts.  That would help to support the family on the run and to settle them in Egypt for a few years.  They left that night as well.

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King Herod waited.  And waited.  After a week, or maybe a month, he realized the Magi were NOT coming back to tell him where this new “king” was living.  In a rage, he ordered that all the boy babies two years old and under in Bethlehem were to be destroyed. 

And so, in Bethlehem, homes were torn open and soldiers carrying swords and daggers burst in, grabbing any baby boy or toddler, and slashing him to death, splashing blood everywhere.  Mothers, fathers, grandparents, and other children wailed, screamed, and wept for the murdered children.  

“A voice was heard in Ramah, weeping and loud lamentation,

Rachel weeping for her children; she refused to be comforted,

because they are no more.” Jeremiah 31:15.

And King Herod, the madman, reclined on his bed, confident he’d taken care of the Jewish king problem.

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A few years later, Herod was dead too, his rule divided among his three wicked sons.

God then “called His Son out of Egypt,” through a dream He gave to Joseph.  The family returned to Israel, but didn’t stop in Bethlehem, for a new king was now in Jerusalem, Archelaus, as wicked as his father.  As in Luke’s gospel, they returned home to Nazareth. And so, Jesus would be known as “the Nazarene.”

 

 

Journaling through the Bible Chronologically in 2025, Day 275

Oct2

A NEW MONTH – THE NEW TESTAMENT!

Day 275 – Reading – Matthew 1 and Luke 2

Read and believe in Jesus!

MATTHEW.

Yes! Read the genealogy!  (Don’t worry about pronunciation.) 

If you’ve been with me in the Old Testament study, you will recognize some names. (Most recently, Jechoniah/Jehoiachin [the king who surrendered to Nebuchadnezzar and was later honored] and Zerubbabel.)  Also, there are FOUR women mentioned, three by name. (Can you find them?)  THIS genealogy is the history of Joseph, Mary’s husband, and the stepfather of Jesus.  It traces the ROYAL line and places Jesus firmly in the kingly heritage of King David, as God promised this “man after His heart.”

(Luke’s genealogy traces Jesus’ lineage through another son of King David, Nathan (not the prophet), down to Mary, which avoids the curse on the later kings of Judah). 

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Matthew 1.

The genealogy of Jesus Christ from Abraham down, through King Solomon to Jesus’ stepfather, Joseph.  

Matthew also gives us a glimpse of the man, Joseph, who is called a “just man.”  When he learned/SAW that his fiancée, Mary, was pregnant and knew the baby was NOT his, Joseph had the right by Jewish Law to either have her “stoned to death” or divorce her.  He loved Mary, so he decided to divorce her quietly. 

Had Mary told him the story of Gabriel’s announcement? Did he not believe her? Was it too outlandish?

But before he could start proceedings, the angel of the Lord (Gabriel?) appeared to him in a dream. “Joseph! son of David! Do not fear to take Mary as your wife, for that which is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. She will bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus (Savior), for He will save His people from their sins.

This fulfilled what the LORD had spoken to the prophet Isaiah, that “the virgin shall conceive and bear a son” (Isaiah 7:14), and “they will call Him Immanuel, or ‘God with us.'” (Isaiah 8:8, 10)

So, the “just, but obedient” man, Joseph, did as the angel commanded and married the pregnant Mary.  But they stayed apart, intimately, until after she gave birth. 

Oh, and they did call the baby JESUS, as the angel told Joseph.

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Luke 2.

This is the most familiar account of the birth of Jesus, with portions of it printed on many Christmas cards each year.  So often is it read in December that many of us could recite the 20 verses by heart. (Our son, a 6th grader at the time, did just that for Bible reading at our church one Christmas Sunday.).

Old Caesar Augustus thought it a good idea to “register” everyone in the Roman Empire. He commanded “all the world” to go to their ancestral town and be counted. It was primarily to register young Roman men for the draft.  Formerly, Israel had been exempt from a census because Jewish men did not serve in the Roman army. But this census (to be repeated every 14 years) would also enable Augustus to levy poll taxes on everyone.

So, as we’ve seen in the genealogies, Joseph was in the line of David, so he had to travel the 70 miles from Nazareth to Bethlehem, David’s ancestral home. The same with Mary.

But … Mary’s due date was only days away!  Nevertheless, they traveled with a large family group to Bethlehem.  (Of course, we KNOW this was to fulfill prophecy about where the Messiah would be born. (Micah 5:2).  

They walked (or rode) and arrived in a completely packed town. Mary started having contractions.  The only private place was where they kept the animals, so Joseph booked it. Mary started labor as the animals looked on.

In hours, Jesus, the Son of God, the Savior of the World, the second Person of the Holy Trinity, was pushed out into a hostile world which would, in a mere 33 years, horrifically kill Him. But for now, He was held safely in warm swaddling cloths, close to Mary’s breast. Later, he was placed in a straw-filled, stone feed trough while Mary slept.

So many prophecies fulfilled.  So many more to be fulfilled. God’s plan of salvation had begun.

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Meanwhile, those shepherds outside Bethlehem got a FIVE-STAR show in the midnight sky.  First,  an angel appeared in lightning brightness with a heavenly birth announcement.

“FEAR NOT! For behold, I bring you Good News of great joy for all the people. For unto you is born this day in the city of David, a Savior, who is Christ (Messiah), the Lord.” 

The angel went on to tell the shepherds HOW they would recognize this Savior-Messiah. “You will find the baby wrapped in swaddling cloths and lying in a manger …. YES, a manger.”

Then that glorious, brilliant, light and song of a million angels began. “Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace among those with whom He is pleased.”

Then a silence and blackness.  It took the shepherds a few minutes for their hearts to slow, their vision and hearing to return.  They looked at each other. “Did you…?” “Yes!” “The Messiah…?”  “I KNOW!”  And then, the agreed, “Let’s go!”   And forsaking their sheep (sleeping through it all, no doubt), and ran as one towards Bethlehem.  The star – Yes, THAT star – pointed to the stable.  AND THEY FOUND HIM just as they’d been told. 

When the excitement ended, and the now-awake Jesus was shown around, the shepherds told the young family about the angels, the announcement, and the glorious singing.  Mary, eyes large as saucers, “treasured up all these things in her heart.”

Eventually, the shepherds left, but they weren’t finished.  They went back glorifying and praising God, and sharing all they had heard and seen with everyone they met.

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Eight days later, as per the Law of Moses, baby Jesus was circumcised as a sign he was a Son of the Covenant (a Jew). At that time, He also officially got his name, Jesus. 

Forty days after his birthday, Mary and Joseph, again according to the Law of Moses, went to the temple to present (and redeem) Jesus, and to offer the sacrifice of 2 doves to show that the purification of Mary had been completed.  (Only then could her marriage to Joseph be consummated.)

While they were there, they met two elderly senior citizens: the righteous and devout Simeon, and the godly, widowed praying prophetess, Anna.  Both had been waiting a lifetime for that day….. the day they would see the Messiah of Israel. 

Simeon took the baby in his arms and prophesied over him.

“My eyes, Lord, have seen Your salvation that You have prepared in the presence of all peoples,

a light for revelation to the Gentiles, and for glory to your people Israel.”

Simeon handed back Jesus and said with a sweet sigh, “Now I can depart in peace.”

After seeing Jesus, Anna began to give thanks to God and to speak of Him to all who were waiting for the redemption of Jerusalem. 

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(Luke here omits the visit from the Eastern Kings, and the family’s hurried trip to and stay in Egypt.) 

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He tells of them going back to Nazareth, and Jesus growing strong and filled with wisdom. His parents also saw God’s favor on Him.

Luke then fast-forwards to when Jesus was twelve and the family made the annual trip to Jerusalem for Passover.  After the feast days, they returned, but later discovered that Jesus was nowhere to be found.  His parents hurried back to Jerusalem and searched high and low for the boy. 

Yes, they found him and were both relieved and angry. 

He was at the Temple conversing with the Teachers of the Law (scribes and Pharisees). He was asking and answering questions about the Law, and these learned men were amazed at His wisdom.

Mary scolded Him (hopefully not in front of the Teachers, for at 12, He was considered a man).

Jesus answered that He was in His Father’s House.  Whoa, a slight that Joseph, whom He obeyed and respected, was NOT His true Father.

“What….?” they answered. (More stuff for Mary to ponder in her heart.)

But Jesus obediently returned to Nazareth with them.  And He continued to grow in wisdom, stature, and in favor with God and man  (….for 18 more years).

 

 

Journaling through the Bible Chronologically in 2025, Day 263

Sep20

Day 263 – Reading – Zechariah 1 – 4.

Read the Scriptures first. Do you like reading prophetic visions?  

Today begins three days in the book of Zechariah.  Remember in Ezra 5:1-2, God sent two prophets, Haggai and Zechariah, to get the Jews off their recliners and back to work to finish rebuilding the Temple. He was in a priestly line, born in Babylon and raised by his priest-grandfather, Iddo. He’s described as a “young man” in Zechariah 2:4, so he was probably younger than Haggai and hadn’t begun his priestly duties (age 30).  According to Matthew 23:35, he was murdered between the temple and the altar!

Not only did Zechariah challenge the Jews to complete the Temple rebuild, but he went on to encourage them concerning their Messiah and His glorious kingdom and new Temple in the future. 

In each of his three main prophesies, Zechariah begins with the present situation in Judah and goes forward to the exaltation of the Messiah’s reign.  It is sometimes called “the apocalypse of the Old Testament.”

God used Zechariah to bring an outburst of promise for the future to sustain the faithful remnant through the coming 400 “silent years” when no word from God was heard until John the Baptist’s words announcing “the Lamb of God.”

(I think it’s cool that Israel was in Egypt for 400 years, until they killed the Passover Lamb.  And soon there would be another 400 dark years until they heard the announcement of (and killed) Jesus, “the Lamb of God.”  See Mark 1:1-11)

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Zechariah 1.

“‘Return to me, and I will return to you,’ says the LORD.” were Zechariah’s first words. And the people repented. Then Zechariah gave these two visions for the comfort of the exiles.

  • 1.)  In the night, Zechariah “saw” a Man/angel among the myrtle trees, and 3 other riders of colored horses.  These men on horses patrolled the earth, and discovered all the nations (Gentiles) were at ease/rest, while Jerusalem & Zion lay in disaster.
  • The Man/angel then told Zechariah and the Jews these gracious and comforting words from the LORD.
  • “I have returned to Jerusalem with mercy; my house shall be built in it, and the measuring line shall be stretched out over Jerusalem (the walls were finished 75 years later).  My cities shall again overflow with prosperity, and the LORD will again comfort Zion and again “choose Jerusalem.” (during the Millennial Kingdom.)

 

  • 2.) Next, Zechariah “saw” four horns! He asked what they represented. 
  • The angel said they were “the horns (or powers) that scattered Judah, Israel, and Jerusalem.” (Maybe the four who attacked Israel: Egypt, Assyria, Babylon, and Persia, but most likely the four world empires of Daniel 2:7: Babylon, Persia, Greece & Rome.)
  • Then Zechariah “saw” four craftsmen (“hammers”), and asked the angel/man what these were coming to do.
  • The angel said, “These have come to terrify the “horns” that scattered Judah. The craftsmen will terrify them and cast them down.“

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Zechariah 2.

  • 3.)  Next, the prophet “sees” a man with a measuring line, and he asks the man where he’s going and what he’s planning to do.
  • “To measure Jerusalem, to see what is its width and length.”  The angel/man then sends a runner after the measuring man to tell him that the future Jerusalem will have NO WALL. The LORD will be a “wall of fire” all around the city, AND He will also be the Glory in her midst.

Then Zechariah comes back to the present with a message to the Jews still remaining in Babylon.  “Up! Up! Flee from the land of the north, declares the LORD.  Up! Escape to Zion, you who dwell with the daughter of Babylon, who plundered you.  For he who touches you touches the apple of His (God’s) eye. I will shake my hand over them, and they (captors) shall become the plunder for those who served them.”

  • Then Zechariah again resorts to the distant future when the LORD will dwell in Zion, and many nations shall join themselves to the LORD and also be His people.  He will dwell in their midst, in “the holy land.”  He will again “choose Jerusalem.”  So, “Sing and rejoice, O daughter of Zion!”

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Zechariah 3.

This next vision reveals the need for Israel’s cleansing and restoration as a priestly nation.

  • 4.)  The LORD showed Zechariah the High Priest Jeshua, standing before the angel of the LORD, and Satan standing at his right hand (God’s or Jeshua’s?) to ACCUSE HIM.  This is symbolic. Jeshua stands in for Israel as a whole. Will he be rejected or accepted? 
  • The LORD rebukes Satan for his accusation. He tells the enemy that He has snatched him (Jeshua/Israel) out of the fire of destruction/exile, like a stick about to burn. 
  • Satan fires back, pointing out Jeshua’s filthy garments (Israel’s sin). 
  • The LORD commands that the filthy garments be removed from Jeshua. Then He says to the priest representing all of Israel, “Behold, I have taken your iniquity away from you, and I will clothe you with pure vestments.”

(This is righteousness imputed, as God does to those who believe in Jesus, the Christ.  Nothing that they/we do can make us clean. God changes our filthiness to purity and glory, and the ability now to serve Him.)

  • Then, Zechariah joins the scene and reminds them to put a clean turban on Jeshua’s head.  The priestly turban, inscribed “Holy to the LORD,” is placed on Jeshua’s head.
  • The LORD of Hosts then charges Jeshua, “If you will walk in my ways and keep my charge, then you shall rule my house and have charge of my courts, and I will give you the right of access with those who stand here.” (Access to God’s throne room through offerings and prayer.)  “And behold, I will bring my servant, “the Branch.” (Jeremiah 23:5-6)  I will remove the iniquity of this land in a single day. “

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Zechariah 4.

  • 5.) The angel/man came again to Zechariah and showed him a lampstand, all of gold. It had a bowl on top and seven lamps.  There were two olive trees by it, on the right and left, which supplied a continual flow of oil to burn.
  • Then the angel/man gave a message from the LORD to Zerubbabel. “Not by might, nor by power, but by my Spirit, says the LORD of hosts.” He was speaking of the task of finishing the rebuilding of the Temple. 
  • “Who are you, O great mountain? Before Zerubbabel you shall become a plain.  And he shall bring forward the “top stone” (finishing stone of the temple) amid shouts of “Grace, grace to it!” The hands of Zerubbabel have laid the foundation of this house; his hands shall complete it!”

(And it WAS completed 6 years later.)

  • Zechariah asked about the two olive trees on either side of the lampstand with pipes to pour in the oil.
  • “Do you know what these represent?” asked the angel/man.
  • “No, my lord,” said Zechariah.
  • “These are the “anointed ones” who stand by the LORD of the whole earth.” 

Who were anointed to serve in Israel?  The king and the priest.  Representing these two offices (for the returned exiles) through which the blessing of God would flow were Zerubbabel, descended from the royal line, and Jeshua, from the priestly line.  Both together foreshadowed the Messiah, as priest and king.

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****LORD, thank you for all the imagery in this section, especially the courtroom scene where Jeshua stood before You, clothed in filthy garments.  This is like all the people of the world, sinners in need of cleansing.  Then YOU took off the dirty clothes and put on clean ones. YOU, not Jeshua. And you gave him access to YOU! 

 This is such a beautiful picture of what Jesus did for all who believe in Him.  Just like 2 Corinthians 5:21 says. “For our sake, He made Him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in Him, we might become the righteousness of God.”  Thank you, oh, thank you!

Journaling through the Bible Chronologically in 2025, Day 262

Sep19

Day 262 – Reading – Haggai 1 – 2

Read the Scriptures first. What catches your attention?  

Haggai 1.

(Remember back in Ezra, when the Samaritan adversaries had caused the rebuilding of the Temple to be stopped for many years? Ezra said God sent two prophets to encourage them.  We’ll study them today and over the weekend.  (“Now the prophets, Haggai and Zechariah, prophesied to the Jews who were in Judah and Jerusalem, in the name of the God of Israel who was over them. Then Zerubbabel and Jeshua the high priest arose and began to rebuild the house of God that is in Jerusalem, and the prophets of God were with them, supporting them.” Ezra 5:1-2)  Today we’ll read Haggai’s message.)

During the time when they were “forbidden” to work on the Temple, the people had begun building and remodeling their own houses, and planting crops and weaving material for new clothes.  But… the harvests were nothing, and the people were hungry and cold.  There was no money to furnish their homes.  WHY?

The prophet Haggai said why.  Because the Temple lay unfinished, with only the foundation built.  Now that Darius had given the green light, they were to “go up to the hills and bring wood and build the House, that I (God) may take pleasure in it and that I may be glorified.”

Then Zerubbabel and Jeshua the high priest, with all the remnant of people feared the Lord and obeyed the voice of the LORD their God and the words of Haggai the prophet.

“I am with you,” declared the LORD.

And they came and worked on the house of the LORD of hosts, their God. 

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Haggai 2.

As the people worked on the rebuilding, they couldn’t help but see (or remember hearing of) the difference between what they were doing, and the great Temple that Solomon build. 

“Who of you saw this House in its former glory?” asked Haggai. “How do you see it now?  Is it not as nothing in your eyes?  But be strong O Zerubbabel and O Jeshua.  Be strong, all you people of the land, for the LORD says,

  • ‘Work, for I am with you. My Spirit remains in your midst. Fear not.  I will shake the heavens and the earth, the see and dry land, and all the nations, so the treasures of all nations shall come in, and I WILL FILL THIS HOUSE WITH MY GLORY.  THE LATTER GLORY OF THIS HOUSE SHALL BE GREATER THAN THE FORMER.  AND IN THIS PLACE I WILL GIVE PEACE.'”

(NOTE: God, of course was referring to the glorious Millennial Kingdom and Temple.  The Jews viewed the Temple as one continual building, existing in different forms at different times.  Solomon’s until now. And then Herod’s great renovated one in Jesus’ time which would be again destroyed.  And then, perhaps a rebuilt one in time of Antichrist, but then … the final one in which God would dwell among them for 1,000 years.)

Haggai reminds the people how nothing went right for them when the neglected the rebuilding. But now, since they had begun, God promises to bless them.

 Then, Haggai was spoke God’s words to Zerubbabel the governor of Judah, about the future of the nations.  And “I will take you, O Zerubbabel, my servant, and make you like a signet ring, for I HAVE CHOSEN YOU.”

Zerubbabel was in the royal line of King David.  He was also in the line of both Joseph (Jesus’s step father) and Mary (Jesus’s own flesh & blood mother). See Matthew 1:12-13 and Luke 3:27.

A signet ring was a symbol of honor, authority and power.  It responded to a king’s scepter.  Zerubbabel represents the Davidic dynasty and resumes the Messianic line disrupted by the exile.

(Zerubbabel was the grandson of King Jehoiachin, who gave himself up to Nebuchadnezzar in the second deportation, and years later was brought from prison and honored all the rest of his life by a later king of Babylon.)

(God is so faithful to accomplish all He promises. Hallelujah!  I can trust Him explicitly to do as He says. Thank YOU!!)

Journaling through the Bible Chronologically in 2025, Day 210

Jul29

Day 210 – Reading – Isaiah 49 – 53.

Read today’s Scriptures.  

Isaiah 49.

“Listen to me, O coastlands…”  Who are the coastlands?  As Isaiah says, they are “peoples from afar.” Coastlands most likely refers to Gentiles in the unknown regions of Isaiah’s day.  Think: the coasts of the countries that circle the Mediterranean Sea. In the prophets’ time, Tarshish, or Spain, was really, really far away. Gentiles, is another way to think of “coastlands.”  And these might include the lands that at that time were not yet even discovered.

So America… head’s up!  Isaiah is going to tell you about Jesus, the LORD’s “Suffering Servant.”  It is Jesus Christ, the Lamb of God, who was slain to redeem God’s elect from every nation.

  • “I will make you as a light for the nations (Gentile), that my salvation may reach to the end of the earth.”

But, no, God has not forsaken Israel for the Gentiles!

  • “Can a woman forget her nursing child, that I should have no compassion on the son of her womb?  Even THESE may forget, yet I will not forget you.  Behold, I have engraved you on the palms of my hands…”

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Isaiah 50.

Verses 4-11 of this chapter picture Jesus Christ, “the suffering servant.”

  • “I gave my back to those who strike, and my cheeks to those who pull out my beard; I hid not my face from disgrace and spitting.”

And a call to the unconverted to believe and be saved.

  • “Let him who walks in darkness and has no light … trust in the name of the LORD and rely on his God.”

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Isaiah 51.

In this chapter, God comforts and encourages both Jew and Gentile.

  • “Look to Abraham, your father and to Sarah who bore you; for he was but ONE when I called him, that I might bless him and MULTIPLY him. 
  • “For the Lord comforts Zion … joy and gladness will be found in her, thanksgiving and the voice of song.
  • “And the ransomed of the LORD shall return and come to Zion with singing; everlasting joy shall be upon their heads; they shall obtain gladness and joy, and sorrow and sighing shall flee away.

And…

  • “My righteousness draws near, my salvation has gone out, and my arms will judge the peoples; the COASTLANDS hope for me, and for my arm they wait. 

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Isaiah 52.

Again Isaiah foretells a time of Israel being restored to their land and to glory when their Redeemer comes to rule.

  • “You were sold for nothing (in the countries of the world), and you shall be redeemed without money.”

And after that time messengers will go throughout the mountains around Jerusalem, to spread the good news that redeemed Israel has returned.  (Paul later picks this up to show the spread of the Gospel, in Romans 10)

  • How beautiful upon the mountains are the feet of him who brings good news, who publishes peace, who brings good news of happiness, who publishes salvation, who say to Zion, “Your God reigns.”

Then Isaiah gives a summary and preview of the humiliation and exultation of the “Servant.” (The details will be given in the following chapter.)

  • “Behold, my servant shall act wisely; He shall be high and lifted up, and shall be exalted.  As many were astonished at you — his appearance was so marred, beyond human semblance, and His form beyond that of the children of mankind — so shall He sprinkle (with his own blood) many nations; kings shall shut their mouths because of Him;”

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Isaiah 53.

And then that great chapter that describes the excruciating death of Jesus for our sins and our redemption.  (Many Jews call this the “forbidden chapter.” Sometimes it is even omitted from their scriptures.)  

Who has believed what he has heard from us?
And to whom has the arm of the LORD been revealed?

For He grew up before him like a young plant, 
and like a root out of dry ground:
He had no form or majesty that we should look at Him,
and no beauty that we should desire Him.

He was despised and rejected by men;
a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief;
and as one from whom men hide their faces
He was despised, and we esteemed Him not.

Surely He has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows;
yet, we esteemed Him stricken, smitten by God, and afflicted.

But he was wounded for OUR transgressions;
He was crushed for OUR iniquities;
upon Him was the chastisement that brought US peace,
and with His stripes WE are healed.

All we like sheep have gone astray;
we have turned -- every one -- to his own way;
and the LORD has laid on Him the iniquity of us all.

He was oppressed, and He was afflicted,
yet He opened not his mouth;
like a lamb that is led to the slaughter,
and like a sheep that before its shearers is silent,
so He opened not His mouth.

By oppression and judgment, He was taken away;
and as for His generation, who considered
that He was cut off out of the land of the living,
stricken for the transgression of my people?

And they made His grave with the wicked 
and with a rich man in his death,
although He had done no violence,
and there was no deceit in His mouth.

Yet, it was the will of the LORD to crush Him,
He has put Him to grief;
when His soul makes an offering for guilt,
He shall see His offspring; 
He shall prolong His days;
the will of the LORD shall prosper in His hand.

Out of the anguish of His soul 
He shall see and be satisfied;
by His knowledge shall the righteous One, my servant,
make many to be accounted righteous,
and He shall bear their iniquities.

Therefore, I will divide Him a portion with the many,
and He shall divide the spoil with the strong,

because He poured out His soul to death
and was numbered with the transgressors;
Yet, He bore the sin of many,
and makes intercession for the transgressors.

**** Thank You, LORD, for your sending Jesus to be the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world.  Jesus did that by sacrificing His own life, taking our sin, and dying as the punishment we deserved.  Oh, God!  How great a salvation you planned!

Journaling through the Bible Chronologically in 2025, Day 207

Jul26

Day 207 – Reading – Isaiah 40 – 43.

Read today’s Scriptures.  

Isaiah 40.

We are now in the second division of Isaiah. The first part was about the threat from the Assyrians.  Now we begin to get a preview of the Babylonian captivity (as if they were already in it) (ch. 40-48), the Suffering Servant/Messiah (ch. 49-51), and Israel’s future glory (ch. 52-66).

In the first two verses, God tells His prophets what to say to His people, Judah in captivity.  Comfort them!  Speak tenderly to them.  Tell them the pardon for their sins has come.

Then a glorious foretaste of the coming Messiah. 

(Do you recognize the description of John the Baptist in the four Gospels?  “A voice crying in the wilderness…  Make straight the path.…”)

Imagine captive Judah hearing these glorious words!

  • “Behold your God!   Behold, the Lord GOD comes with might…  Behold, his reward is with Him…
  • Do you not know? do you not hear? Has it not been told to you from the beginning? Have you not understood from the foundations of the earth?  It is HE who sits above the circle of the earth, and its inhabitants are like grasshoppers…
  • All nations are as nothing before Him, they are accounted by Him as less than nothing and emptiness.
  • Have you not known?  Have you not heard?  The LORD is the everlasting God, the Creator of the ends of the earth. HE does not faint or grow weary; His understanding is unsearchable.  
  • He gives power to the faint, and to him who has no might, He increases strength.  They who wait for the LORD shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings like eagles; they shall run and not be weary; they shall walk and not faint.”

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Isaiah 41.

God is calling the nations to plead their case before Him.  Then God hints at His “stirring up one from the east” who will conquer Babylon, and allow some of the Jewish captives to return to Israel. And who accomplished this?  “I, the LORD, the first and the last; I AM.”

And more words of comfort for the captive Judah:

  • “But YOU, Israel, my servant, Jacob, whom I have chosen, the offspring of Abraham, my friend;   YOU whom I took from the ends of the earth and called from its farthest corners, saying to you, YOU are my servant, I have chosen YOU and not cast you off.
  • Fear not, for I am with you; be not dismayed, for I am your God; I will strengthen you, I will help you, I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.
  • I am the One who helps you, declares the LORD; your Redeemer is the Holy One of Israel.
  • I will open rivers on the bare heights, and fountains in the midst of the valleys, I will make the wilderness a pool of water and the dry land springs of water… that they may see and know, may consider and understand together … that the hand of the LORD has done this, the Holy One of Israel has created it.”

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Isaiah 42.

This chapter reveals God’s “Chosen Servant,” the Messiah.

  • “Behold my servant, whom I uphold, My chosen, in whom My soul delights, I have put My Spirit upon Him; He will bring forth justice to the nations.
  • He will not cry aloud or lift up his voice, or make it heard in the street; a bruised reed He will not break, and a faintly burning wick He will not quench; He will faithfully bring forth justice. He will not faint or be discouraged till He has established justice in the earth. 

Did you recognize the description of our gentle Savior?  

  • I am the LORD; I have called You in righteousness; I will take you by the hand and keep you; I will give you as a covenant for the people; a light for the nations, to to open the eyes that are blind, to bring out the prisoners from the dungeon, from the prison those who sit in darkness.

Did you see where Matthew and Luke quoted Jesus’ ministry? 

Then, the LORD, through Isaiah, chides his people for being deaf and blind to the promises and provisions of God, so He poured on them “the heat of His anger” for a while.

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Isaiah 43.

This is a glorious chapter of God’s love and grace to Israel (and to us as well).

“But now, says the LORD, He who created you, O Jacob, He who formed you, O Israel:

  • Fear not, for I have redeemed you; I have called you by name, you are mine.
  • When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and through the rivers, they shall not overwhelm you;
  • When you walk through fire you shall not be burned, and the flame shall not consume you. 
  • For I am the LORD your God, the Holy One of Israel, your Savior. 
  • Because you are precious in my eyes, and honored, and I love you..

And God’s wondrous proclamations:

  • Before Me no god was formed, nor shall there be any after me. I, I AM the LORD, and beside me there is no savior.
  • I AM He; there is none who can deliver from my hand; I work, and who can turn it back.
  • Thus says the LORD, your Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel.
  • Behold, I am doing a new thing; now it springs forth, do you not perceive it?
  • I, I AM He who blots out your transgressions for my own sake, and I will not remember your sins.

Wow! Praise You, O great God in heaven!

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O LORD, I know you love me because of Jesus. I know you discipline me to bring me back to You. You are good and righteous, great and holy, my redeemer and savior. Praise Your Holy Name.

 

 

Journaling through the Bible Chronologically in 2025, Day 199

Jul18

Day 199 – Reading – Isaiah 23 – 27

Read today’s Scriptures.  (Yes, they are hard to understand!)

Isaiah 23.

This “oracle” is directed at Tyre and Sidon (modern-day Lebanon). They were famous for their ships and shipping industry, as far west as Tarshish (modern-day Spain). The King of this country assisted Solomon in supplying building materials for his palace and the Temple of the LORD.  Later, relations were broken.

Now Isaiah predicts doom for these proud people. “The LORD of hosts has purposed it, to defile the pompous pride of all glory, to dishonor all the honored of the earth.”

“In that day, Trye will be forgotten for seventy years, like the days of one king.”   

“At the end of seventy years, the LORD will visit Tyre…. Her merchandise and wages will be holy to the LORD. It will not be stored or hoarded, but her merchandise will supply abundant food and fine clothing for those who dwell before the LORD.”   Tyre’s sinful gain was to support Judah when they returned.

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Isaiah 24.

The horrific judgments in this chapter, against the WHOLE WORLD, reflect the tribulations as described in Revelation 6+.  The LORD God is to deal with the whole earth MORE SEVERELY than He did at the Tower of Babel and Noah’s Flood!

  • “Behold, the LORD will empty the earth and make it desolate, and He will twist its surface and scatter its inhabitants.
  • “The earth shall be utterly empty and utterly plundered; for the LORD has spoken this word.
  • “The earth is utterly broken, the earth is split apart, the earth is violently shaken.
  • The earth staggers like a drunken man; it sways like a hut.

And the PEOPLE of the earth languish. The inhabitants of the earth are scorched, and few men are left.  WHY??

  • Because they have transgressed the laws, violated the statutes, broken the EVERLASTING COVENANT.

What is “the everlasting covenant?”  See Genesis 17:7, 13, & 19 and 1 Chronicles 16:15-17.

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Isaiah 25.

Isaiah now praises the LORD for the wonderful things He’s planned (judgment and future restoration).

  • “He will swallow up death forever; and the Lord GOD will wipe away tears from all faces, and the reproach of His People He will take away from all the earth.”
  • “It will be said on that day, ‘Behold, this is our God; we have waited for Him, that He might save us.  This is the LORD, we have waited for Him; let us be glad and rejoice in His salvation.'”

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Isaiah 26.

The prophet continues praise for that day of final restoration.

  • “In that day, this song will be sung in the land of Judah. ‘Open the gates, that the righteous nation that KEEPS faith may enter in.”
  • “You keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on You, because he trusts in You.
  • “Trust in the LORD forever, for the LORD GOD is an everlasting rock.”
  • “The path of the righteous is level; You make level the way of the righteous.
  • “O LORD, You will ordain peace for us, for You have indeed done for us all our works. (“It is finished,” said Jesus.)

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Isaiah 27.

And then that great promise of the final destruction of that Great Serpent, Satan…

  • “In that day, the LORD, with His hard and great and strong sword will punish Leviathan the fleeing serpent, Leviathan the twisting serpent, and he will slay the DRAGON that is in the sea.

And then there is ANOTHER VINEYARD SONG.  How different this one is from the sad tale of a wasted one in Isaiah 5:1-7.  This one is called “a pleasant vineyard.”

  • “In days to come Jacob shall take root, Israel shall blossom and put forth shoots, and fill the whole world with fruit.”  (In Messiah’s kingdom)
  • “In that day from the river Euphrates to the Brook of Egypt the LORD will thresh out the grain, and you will be gleaned one by one, O people of Israel.  (Matthew 24:31)
  • “In that day a great trumpet will be blown, and those who were lost in the land of Assyria and those who were driven out to the land of Egypt will come and worship the LORD on the holy mountain at Jerusalem”

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(Promises of the horrors of Revelation, and the promises of the beautiful restoration of Israel in the Millennian Kingdom.  God can be trusted to fulfill each … in detail.  I believe the “beginning of sorrows”
has, or is about to start.   LORD, Thank you for your word that tells us to PERSEVERE to the end… the glorious end.)

Journaling through the Bible Chronologically in 2025, Day 190

Jul9

Day 190 – Reading – Isaiah 1 – 4

Read today’s Scriptures.  

Isaiah prophesied to Judah and their corrupt leaders in Jerusalem for over 40 years, during the reigns of Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah.  He warned that the devastation and exile they saw happening in the northern kingdom would come upon them too, if they didn’t repent of their rebellion, idolatry, and injustice.  He also prophesied about a coming king (branch) from David’s line.

The book is divided into three general sections.

  • 1-39 – Points to the sin and fall of the northern kingdom of Israel, and what is coming for Judah. God will send the nations to conquer the southern kingdom, and Jerusalem will fall. Her people will go into exile in Babylon. (This happens 100 years later)  A thin thread of HOPE also runs through these chapters, of the New Jerusalem, a godly remnant, and a Righteous Ruler.
  • 40-55 – Reveals the coming Messiah (700 years later), and His role as the slain Lamb of God.
  • 56-66 – Tells more fully of the final judgment and restoration; the new heaven and earth, and the righteous rule of the Messiah.

Much of Isaiah is written in the form of beautiful poetry.  Maybe, like me, you’ve learned to sing some of his words!

Isaiah 1.

The first “vision” of Isaiah is a courtroom scene.  The LORD is the plaintiff and Israel, the defendant. Instead of responding to the care and love of “the Holy One of Israel,” they rebelled and disobeyed his law.  If God’s grace had not intervened and left a few survivors, Judah and Jerusalem would have been destroyed like Sodom and Gomorrah.

The LORD hates hypocrisy, especial in His worship. “He’s had enough of their burnt offerings, He doesn’t delight in the blood of bulls or lambs.”   He wants them to first “Wash themselves, remove their evil deeds, learn to do good, seek justice for the orphan and widow!”

“Come now, let us reason together, says the LORD, though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they are red like crimson, they shall become like wool.  IF YOU ARE WILLING AND OBEDIENT, you will eat of the good of the land, BUT IF YOU REFUSE AND REBEL, you shall be eaten by the sword….”

Isaiah then tells of God’s plans to “turn His hand against you, and smelt away your dross with lye, and remove all your alloy. Afterward, you shall be called the city of righteousness, a faithful city.”  

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Isaiah 2

God encourages His people first, with a glimpse of Jerusalem’s (Zion) future exaltation “in the latter days.” It will be the “highest” of mountains.”  “All nations shall flow to it.”  “Many will come to the house of God, that He may teach them His ways so they can walk in His paths.”

“For out of Zion shall go forth the law, and the Word of the LORD from Jerusalem.”

And the prophet pleads, “O HOUSE OF JACOB, COME, LET US WALK IN THE LIGHT OF THE LORD.”

Then Isaiah returns to his rebuke of their sin, telling them why the LORD has rejected them: greed, fortune-tellers from the East, their lofty pride and haughty looks, and exalting idols made with their own hands.

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Isaiah 3.

The judgment of Jerusalem and Judah continues. 

Warning:  the LORD GOD is taking away support and supply from Jerusalem and Judah – bread, water, all leadership, military help, the soldier, judge, prophet, diviner, elder, counselor, the skillful magician, and the expert in charms. 

For Jerusalem has stumbled and Judah has fallen – BECAUSE their speech and their deeds are against the LORD, defying HIS GLORIOUS PRESENCE.  They have brought evil on themselves.

And then Isaiah predicts the horrors that will come when Jerusalem is taken captive.  All the lovely things they have flaunted will be gone, with rottenness, death, and mourning in their place.

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Isaiah 4.

But … hope, too! 

“In that day, the Branch of the LORD shall be beautiful and glorious, and the fruit of the land shall be the pride and honor of the survivors of Israel.”

“And he who is left in Zion and remains in Jerusalem will be called holy, everyone who has been recorded for life in Jerusalem, when the Lord shall have washed away the filth of the daughters of Zion….”

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(Ah, LORD, thank you for the HOPE you give us in Jesus, the Messiah. Sin consumes our world now, and even permeates our own lives like Israel of old.  PRAISE YOU, for washing our scarlet and crimson-red sins away with the blood of Jesus, the Lamb of God, who was crucified as punishment for our iniquity.  THANK YOU for making us (in your sight) white as wool and pristine as snow! We fall on our knees, no, our faces, and worship You!)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

2024GOAL – Reading Through The Bible Chronologically, day 365 – the last day!

Dec31

   Day 365—We are in the LAST month of Bible reading for the year, studying THE REVELATION to John.

Day 365 – Revelation 19 – 22 (Rejoicing in Heaven, 1,000 years, Satan defeated, new Heaven/Earth, new Jerusalem, River & Tree of Life, Jesus is coming)

Revelation 19.

“Hallelujah! Salvation, and glory, and power belong to our God, for His judgments are true and just.”

“Praise our God, all you His servants, you who fear Him, small and great.”

“Hallelujah! For the Lord our God, the Almighty reigns. Let us rejoice and exult and give Him the glory, for the marriage of the Lamb has come, and His Bride has made herself ready: it was granted her to clothe herself with fine linen, bright and pure.”  Blessed are those who are invited to the marriage supper of the Lamb.”

Then John saw a white horse ridden by One called “Faithful and True.” His eyes are like a flame of fire and on His head are many diadems. He has “a name written that no one knows but Himself.”

He is clothed with a robe dipped in blood, and the name by which He is called is “The Word of God.”  This One will defeat the nations and rule them. He will “tread the winepress of the fury of the wrath of God the Almighty.”  On his robe and on his thigh, He has a name written, “King of Kings and Lord of Lords.”

And the “armies of heaven, arrayed in fine linen, white a pure” (the saints) were following Him on white horses.

“I saw the beast and the kings of the earth with their armies gathered to make war against Him who was sitting on the horse and against His army. The beast was captured, and the false prophet, who in its presence had done the signs by which he deceived those who had received the Mark of the Beast and those who worshipped its image.  THESE TWO WERE THROWN ALIVE INTO THE LAKE OF FIRE THAT BURNS WITH SULFER.”

Revelation 20.

Then John saw an angel holding the key to the bottomless pit and a great chain. “And he seized the dragon, that ancient serpent, who is the devil and Satan, and bound him for a thousand years, and threw him into the pit, and shut it, and sealed it over him, so that he might not deceive the nations any longer.” (Until the thousand years have ended, and he is released for a LITTLE while.)

Then John saw the thousand-year reign of Christ on earth. (It’s when Israel’s promised King will reign on the actual earth from Jerusalem.  (A promise fulfilled to the Jews.)

After that, Satan will be released to try to deceive men again, and there will be a great war until fire from Heaven comes down and consumes them. THEN THE DEVIL WILL BE THROWN INTO THE LAKE OF FIRE AND SULFUR AND WILL BE TORMENTED DAY AND NIGHT FOREVER AND EVER!”

Next comes “the Great White Throne Judgment,” when all the dead will stand before God’s throne. Books will be opened and the dead will be judged by WHAT THEY HAVE DONE, as written in the books.  “If anyone’s name was not written in the Lamb’s Book of Life, he was thrown into the lake of fire.“. 

Revelation 21.

John then saw a NEW heaven and a NEW earth.  He saw “the Holy City” descending out of heaven from God, like a bride adorned for her husband.  GOD IS GOING TO DWELL WITH MEN, AND THEY WILL BE HIS PEOPLE, AND HE THEIR GOD. 

All tears will be wiped away. There won’t be death, no mourning, no crying, and no more pain.  All things will be made new. 

Then, an angel showed John the Holy City, Jerusalem, descending out of Heaven from God. It was radiant like the most rare jewel, crystal clear like a diamond.  It had a high wall with twelve gates. Inscribed on each gate was the name of one of the twelve sons of Israel.  The wall had twelve foundations made of twelve precious jewels, with each of the twelve apostles’ names on them. 

The angel with John measured the city. It was a perfect 1,500-mile cube (about 2 million square miles in volume). It mirrored the configuration of the Most Holy Place in the temple.  It was made of pure gold, transparent as glass. 

There was NO TEMPLE because the Lord God Almighty and the Lamb were the temple.

There was NO SUN OR MOON because the glory of God and the lamp of the Lamb gave it light.

There was NOTHING UNCLEAN, ONLY those whose names are written in the Lamb’s Book of Life are allowed to enter the city.

Revelation 22.

The angel then showed John the pure, crystal-clear river of the Water of Life flowing from the throne of God and of the Lamb.  It flowed through the middle of the street of the city. Growing on either side was the Tree of Life with twelve kinds of fruits, one for each month.

The servants of God and the Lamb will worship  Him.  And they will SEE HIS FACE. (see 1 John 3:2)

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John then signs his name. “I, John, am the one who heard and saw these things.”   

The angel told John, “Do NOT seal up the words of the prophecy of this book (like the prophet Daniel was told to do in Daniel 8:26, 12:4-10), “for the time is near.”

“Behold, I am coming soon, bringing my recompense with me to repay everyone for what he has done. I am the Alpha and Omega, the first and the last, the beginning and the end.” 

“I, Jesus, have sent my angel to testify to you about these things for the churches. I am the root and the descendant of David, the bright morning star.”

The Spirit and the Bride say, COME!

Let the one who hears (reads) say, COME!

He who testifies to these things (Jesus) says, SURELY I AM COMING SOON.

John says, AMEN. COME, LORD JESUS!

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We did it. What a glorious trip through the Word of Almighty God, from pure beginning to purity restored.  Glory, hallelujah!

2024GOAL – Reading Through The Bible Chronologically, days 363-364, Part B.

Dec30

 Day 363-364—We are in the LAST month of Bible reading for the year, studying the LETTERS of the Apostles.

NOTE: Usually, Sunday’s and Monday’s studies are posted together, but because these readings are so long, I will post them separately.

Day 364, Part B – Revelation 12 – 18 (Woman & dragon, Satan cast down, the Beast, 3 visions, 7 plagues, 7 bowls of wrath, 666, Babylon falls, Yay!)

This section of Revelation is filled with symbols and allegories. The people in the churches of John’s day would probably have understood their meanings more than we do. The sequence of events is not necessarily linear but often overlapping & repeating.

Revelation 12.

This chapter pictures Satan attempting to destroy the infant of a woman with a crown of 12 stars. But the child is taken to heaven and his throne before the Dragon can kill him. The woman (Israel?) is protected by God in the wilderness.

There is a great war in heaven. Michael and the angels fight against the dragon and his angels (demons). Michael’s army wins and throws the great dragon (that ancient serpent, the devil, Satan) down to earth with his angels.  Satan, “the accuser of the brethren” (remember Job?), is thrown down and mad. 

“WOE to the earth and sea, for the devil has come down to you in great wrath because he knows his time is short.“

Revelation 13.

Then, an ugly, multiheaded, powerful “beast” emerges from the sea. (He looks a little like the beast in Daniel’s vision of end times.)  To this beast (Antichrist), the dragon gives his power, throne, and great authority.  The people of the earth worship the dragon and worship the beast. The beast speaks great blasphemies against God, His name, and His Temple.   The beast was “allowed” to make war on the saints and conquer them. All on the earth worshiped it, EXCEPT those whose names were written in the Lamb’s Book of Life.

Then a second beast emerges from the sea, looking like a lamb, but speaking like the dragon. This beast can do miracles and deceive the people of Earth into worshiping the Beast. It has them make a statue of the Beast and he enables it to speak too.  It makes all who live on Earth to get the MARK on their forehead or hand, or they cannot buy or sell anything. 

The mark? 666 is “the number of a man.” In John’s time, this was clearly NERO.

  • And so, now there is an unholy trinity: the Dragon/false prophet, the Beast/Antichrist, and the miracle-working second Beast. 
  • NOTE: Even the required Mark of the Beast is a foul imitation of God’s command in Deuteronomy 6:4-8 to Love the LORD, the ONE TRUE GOD, with all their hearts, soul, and strength. They were to teach His Words to their children and…” bind them as a sign on your HAND, and they shall be as frontlets between your eyes (FOREHEAD).” (Their actions and thoughts.)

Revelation 14.

The victory is at hand!!

The Lamb of God stands on Mount Zion and with Him, the 144K evangelists, with HIS name on their foreheads. John heard thunderous singing, like a gazillion harps singing a new song.  An angel comes from the temple and flies overhead, proclaiming the Eternal Gospel. “Fear God and give Him glory, because the hour of His judgement has come.”

A second angel proclaims the good news, “Fallen, fallen is Babylon the great, she who made all nations drink the wine of the passion of her sexual immorality!”

A third angel proclaims, “If anyone worships the Beast & its image and receives the mark, he also will drink the WINE of God’s wrath, poured full strength into the cup of his anger.” And they will be tormented hell with the sulfur and smoke of the torment forever and ever with no rest, day or night.

Here, John inserts, “a call for ENDURANCE of the saints, those who keep the commandments of God and their faith in Jesus.”

Then John sees Jesus with a sharp sickle. He swings the sickle across the earth, and the earth is reaped.

Another angel with a sharp sickle goes to the “VINE of the earth” because its grapes are ripe.  So this angle swings his sickle and reaps the grapes and throws them into the winepress of the Wrath of God.  “And the winepress was trodden outside the city, and the blood from it flowed from the winepress as high as a horse’s bridle for 184 miles.”

  • This reminds me of the Battle Hymn of the Republic. “Mine eyes have seen the glory of the coming of the Lord. He is tramping out the vintage where the grapes of wrath are stored.”
  • Also, if you reread Mark 14:34-36 (and passages in Matthew & Luke), you will see that JESUS drank that cup of Almighty God’s WRATH for us, when he died on the cross, PUNISHED FOR OUR SINS. This scene in Heaven portrays God’s wrath on those WHO REFUSED THIS SO GREAT SALVATION.

Revelation 15.

Next, John saw a great and amazing sign in heaven, “Seven angels with seven plagues, which are the last, for with them the wrath of God is FINISHED.”

First, there was a vast “sea” of what looked like fiery glass. By it were those who overcame the Beast and with harps, they sang the song of Moses and the Lamb. “Great and amazing are Your deeds, O Lord God the Almighty! Just and true are your ways, O King of the nations…”

Then, out of the Sanctuary came the seven angels with seven plagues in seven golden bowls, FULL OF THE WRATH OF GOD, who lives forever and ever.

Revelation 16.

John heard, “Go and pour out on the earth the seven bowls of the wrath of God!”

  • First bowl: harmful and painful sores on those who bore the Mark of the Beast.
  • Second bowl: blood into the seas, killing every living creature in them.
  • Third bowl: blood into the rivers and springs of water.
  • Fourth bowl: on the sun so it scorched people with fire. (The people did not repent and give God glory but cursed the name of God.)
  • Fifth bowl: darkness on the Beast and his kingdom. People gnawed their tongues in anguish and cursed the God of heaven, but they did not repent.
  • Sixth bowl: into the river Euphrates, so it dried up and prepared the way for the great kings and hoards from the East.  The dragon, beast, and second beast opened their mouths, and demonic spirits like frogs came out, going abroad to assemble all the kings of the world to assemble for battle at the place, ARMAGEDDON.
  • Seventh bowl: into the air, and a loud voice came out of the Temple, from the Throne, saying, “IT IS DONE!”  There came lightning, thundering, and a great earthquake so destructive that the great city was split into three parts, and the cities of the nations fell.  Every island fled away, and no mountains could be found.  Great hailstones, weighing 100 pounds, fell on the people.  AND THEY CURSED GOD!

Revelation 17.

Then, the seventh angel took John to view “The Great Prostitute” and her judgment. She was seated “on many waters,” picturing her rule over the peoples of many nations.  Written on her forehead was a name of mystery: “BABYLON” (code name: Rome).  She also sat on seven hills (again, Rome). She was drunk with the blood of the saints martyred for Jesus. The angel also explains the heads/horns of the Beast as kings who make war on the LAMB. 

The Lamb of God defeats them all, for He is King of Kings and Lord of Lords.

Revelation 18.

Then, with the calls of angels, the announcement of Babylon’s fall is made known. 

“Fallen, fallen is Babylon the Great! She has become a dwelling place for demons, a haunt for every unclean spirit, a haunt for every unclean and detestable beast.”

All the kings of the earth weep and wail for her fall.

“Alas, alas! You great city, you mighty city, Babylon! For in a single hour, your judgment has come.”

And all the merchants of the earth weep and mourn for her, for no one buys their cargo.

All the shipmasters and seafaring men, sailors on the sea stood far off and cried out as they saw the smoke of her burning.

“Alas, alas, for the great city where all who had ships at sea grew rich by her wealth, For in a single hour, she has been laid waste.”

And a mighty angel took up a huge millstone and threw it into the sea saying, “So will Babylon the great city be thrown down with violence and will be found no more.”

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(WHEW, that was hard!)

Tomorrow, rejoicing in Heaven!